Sand sculptors find tough shoveling on San Clemente's eroded beach

July 24, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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This sea monster created by the Alessandro Sand Scuptors is based on a San Clemente Island legend. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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This sand sculpture of a walrus, titled "Do These Look Real?" was created at the San Clemente Ocean Festival by a team called Arizona Sandstorm. The walrus's whiskers are made of uncooked fettuccini. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Chris Crosson, leader of the Woodbridge High School team that built this castle, said he has been building sand sculptures for 18 years and that the sand in San Clemente on Sunday was the “toughest stuff we've had to work with." FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Julio and Lisa Pagan of San Clemente are yearly entrants in the San Clemente Ocean Festival's sand-sculpture contest. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The creature in this San Clemente Ocean Festival sand sculpture warns "Don't Mess with the Nest." FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Garden Grove-based team Sand and Deliver called its entry in the San Clemente Ocean Festival sand-sculpting contest "Quarry Castle" because the sand was so full of pebbles. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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If you think San Clemente's gravelly beaches can be hard on bare feet, try crafting a sculpture from the gritty sand.

On Sunday, teams of sand sculptors produced some eye-catching creations at the San Clemente Ocean Festival, while several said the city's eroded beach is getting to be a cantankerous canvas to work with.

"We kind of had to be choosy on where we shoveled," said Steve Abel, whose family has visited San Clemente the past eight summers from Arizona to enter the contest under the name Arizona Sandstorm.

This year the family created a walrus with big tusks and whiskers made of uncooked fettuccini, "inspired during dinner," according to Abel's wife, Darlene.

A team called Nevada Sand Co. did a sculpture dubbed "Get Your Kicks," a tribute to Route 66.

Steven Wallace, organizer of a San Clemente team known for 16 years as Alessandro Sand Sculptors, created "The San Clemente Sea Monster," a big green monster inspired by a creature reportedly seen in 1920 off San Clemente Island.

A team from Garden Grove called Sand and Deliver said it found the sand so gravelly that it titled its creation "Quarry Castle."

Chris Crosson, coach of the Woodbridge High School wrestling team in Irvine, had some wrestlers with him to grapple with the elements. He said he has been building sand sculptures for 18 years and that "this is the toughest stuff we've had to work with. ... We ended up just doing something simple. The name of the castle is 'Defying Gravity' – a castle with arches."

A $10 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to restore San Clemente's eroded beach sand could get under way soon if the plan is approved by the Army, the city of San Clemente says.

The process would involve dredging Oceanside Harbor and bringing sand up the coast to San Clemente on large seagoing barges. The sand then would be poured onto the beach using hoses and pumps and sculpted by tractors. The Army Corps of Engineers is to oversee the project while contracting the work to private firms.

Sunday's sand sculptures were part of a two-day annual summer festival featuring lifeguard games, an art show, a woody car show, public competitions, a fishing derby, surf and paddle contests and a beach concert.

SEE THE RELATED LINKS FOR SLIDESHOWS FROM BOTH DAYS OF THE OCEAN FESTIVAL.

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